


Unwelcome Meetings

by WhiskeysWorks



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Baggage, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Post-Recall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-10 04:59:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18653389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiskeysWorks/pseuds/WhiskeysWorks
Summary: The gunslinger’s eyes locked on an old picture, worn at the edges, tape barely holding it to the wall.Winston’s agent completion ceremony with the old gang. Him, Genji, Reinhardt and Ana on one side. Angela, Lena, Torbjörn, and Jack on the other. Gabe facing away from the camera in the far corner. So much had changed.





	Unwelcome Meetings

There was a haze in the air, silence so quiet it was loud. Too loud. Jesse didn’t like it. He glanced at Genji, eyes partially hidden by his hat. The ninja’s lights were dimmed slightly by the dust around them, green casting a visible line through the air. Even through the mask, Jesse felt Genji’s gaze meet his own. 

It was all too familiar, this sense of unease, foreboding. Waiting in the shadows. 

Overwatch had sent Genji and Jesse to investigate an old Blackwatch hideout. The reasoning was obvious; they were the only two operatives that had specific knowledge on the place, Jesse especially. He had been there many times, the little building tucked into an unassuming corner of California, just inside Death Valley. Was one of the few Reyes trusted enough to take with him to check on things. 

Lots of dirty secrets were hidden in files there underground, stored in places Jesse had snuck in to back when he snooped around just a little to much. A file concerning the events in Rialto was what they were after. Sure, Overwatch had a copy, but they didn’t have the Blackwatch commander’s version of it. 

The one with the full truth. The version Jesse had heard only once from the commander himself, and never repeated to anyone. He wasn’t sure if he ever would.

“Come on, it’s this way.” Jesse murmured, tugging on the brim of his hat and continuing forward. Genji followed without a word. 

The ninja had been quieter than usual, contemplative. Jesse could say the same about himself. Blackwatch was a touchy subject for everyone. This mission they had been sent on rubbed Jesse the wrong way. Everything felt out of place. 

After a few more minutes of pensive silence, the two paused, sliding down to the lowest dip of a large dune. It went further into a canyon, evening sunlight filtering through the holes above them.

“You search left, I will go right.” Genji offered, cybernetic hands sliding over the sandstone carefully as he moved. The cowboy nodded, following the rock wall and stepping lightly. 

A flicker of light caught Jesse’s eye. Something had moved further in the canyon. Jesse set his hand on Peacekeeper in her holster, thumb circling the textured grip.

“Gen…”

“Here!”

Genji made a soft grunt as he twisted something on the ground, a handle popping up. He pulled on it, revealing a staircase that lit up as soon as he stepped down on it carefully.

“Welcome back, Agent Shimada.” A gentle voice greeted, Jesse joining Genji after sweeping the area once more.

“It can still read my biosignature…?” Genji murmured almost to himself, the gunslinger patting his shoulder as he passed and began walking down the staircase.

“Darlin’, our biosignature is in their databases forever. They ain’t forgetting who belongs to them.”

“Agent McCree, welcome.”

“Good to hear from you again, Eris.”

“Likewise.” The voice hummed. It was an AI model made before Athena, but it had almost the same capabilities. Programmed for Blackwatch instead of Overwatch. 

Holoscreens lit up the room the staircase led down to once Jesse stepped into it, head tilting at all the displays.

“Not much has changed.”

“I have kept everything in perfect condition as per request of Commander Reyes since the last transmission I received seven and a half years ago.” Eris informed them, Jesse’s jaw tightening.

“Yeah.”

“Is there anything I can help you find?” Eris continued when the cowboy said nothing else, Genji moving closer behind him.

“We need a physical file. Could you unlock the access panel to the vault for us?” Genji asked. Jesse went to a desk in the corner, sliding a hand through the dust.

“Of course. Give me just a moment.”

“Thank you, Eris.”

The gunslinger’s eyes locked on an old picture, worn at the edges, tape barely holding it to the wall. 

Winston’s agent completion ceremony with the old gang. Him, Genji, Reinhardt and Ana on one side. Angela, Lena, Torbjörn, and Jack on the other. Gabe facing away from the camera in the far corner. So much had changed.

Genji set his hands on the desk, leaning his weight into them.

“That was a good day. One of the fonder memories I have of that time.” Genji murmured, Jesse sighing.

“Yeah. It was nice.”

“Jesse…”

“I know. It’s just hard to look at it without thinkin’ of all the people we lost. And the ones we got back…They ain’t quite the same. Hell, we aren’t even the same.”

“Perhaps that is a good thing. Perhaps we needed a change.”

“Maybe.” Jesse shrugged noncommittally. Genji set his hand on the gunslinger’s shoulder, squeezing it lightly.

“I have unlocked the vault.” Eris called. 

Jesse shook himself out of memories, focusing on the task at hand. He and Genji went to the far side of the room, a door opening for them. File cabinets lined the newly revealed area, smelling somewhat musty.

“Do you know where it could be?” Genji asked, clearly disgruntled at the many lines of cabinets.

“I know they’re sorted by dates, so…Guess we just start checkin’?”

“Ugh…I hate old school files…”

“Some of this stuff can’t be trusted on anythin’ but paper, yanno? It’s the only thing that can’t be hacked.”

“I know, but it makes our lives in this specific scenario we happen to be in a whole lot more difficult.”

“Where’s all that patience you learned up in Nepal?” Jesse teased with a laugh, Genji pulling open a drawer and sifting through it.

“I have plenty, when the work is not boring.” The ninja muttered, Jesse smiling and shaking his head. 

His fingers slid over manila tabs with scratchy writing of dates and names, none of which he needed. Another drawer was opened, another set of files giving him nothing. Genji sighed after about ten minutes, the sound of paper shifting accompanying it.

“These are mostly agent files and insignificant mission reports.”

“Then move on to the next ones.”

“I’m trying to find ours!” Genji huffed, tossing the files on top of the cabinet and bending at the waist to scan more.

“There ain’t nothin’ on those we don’t already know about each other.”

“I want to see my unedited medical reports.”

Jesse raised a brow, turning to Genji as the ninja tapped a drawer closed and opened another.

“You’ve never seen those?”

“Have you?”

“Well, no. There’s lots of black lines on all the medical reports, no matter what.”

“On Ziegler’s, yes. She is bound by Overwatch protocol, and I am not about to break into one of their vaults. I want to see if O’Deorain made any files.”

“O’Deorain ain’t one I’d trust.” Jesse grumbled, wrinkling his nose a bit. He’d always thought hiring her was a mistake.

“Maybe not, but I do not doubt her intellect. And, this is the only vault I’ll be seeing for a long time. Who knows what I could find.” Genji shrugged, flipping through some papers. Jesse pressed his lips into a line, going to a new cabinet.

“It’d be nice if we could actually find what we’re here for. All these damn files are startin’ to blend together on me.”

A hum from Genji was the only answer he got, the gunslinger blinking hard to keep his eyes from tiring too much. These jobs weren’t quite his specialty. Jesse scrunched up his lips, teeth absently gritting against one another instead of the cigar he usually had to chew on. 

His metal hand brushed over some labels, nearly missing one that was filed incorrectly, hidden by the one in front of it. The cowboy pulled it up, brows furrowing. It didn’t have a date, only a label.

Venice Incident.

Jesse opened the folder, eyes scanning over the documents. Media coverage, pictures, mission reports, the recorded interrogation of Reyes afterwards. A hand-written report was on the back of that one.

'Log report 707,

Venice was a failure. Antonio eliminated. 

I should have thought through things first, but he was right. There was no point in taking him in, I knew that from the beginning. Killing Antonio was the only way to unequivocally remove him from the equation. I know Overwatch is only going to hear what it wants to, so I let them do just that. Didn’t bother defending myself, it wouldn’t have mattered. Things will inevitably get fixed, covered up, go back to normal. 

But what happens when they can’t do that anymore? What will they do then? Another massive cover up? Another ploy to lead things back to normal, to lull the world back into a false sense of peace? Jack can’t answer those questions yet, but I can. 

It’s going to have to end soon. We’re only making it worse by trying to clean up the world. It doesn’t need us anymore. The Omnic Crisis is over. But Talon will eventually rise, I can see it happening already. 

I have my doubts about the way things are going, the things I’m having to do for Blackwatch now. But what more can we do? What more can I do? The world is changing, and it’s going to leave Overwatch and the people involved in it behind. I only hope they can see it too, before it’s too late.'

Jesse swallowed thickly, the paper shaking slightly in his hands. Reyes’ voice in his head, a distant memory; when he sat Jesse down in his office, telling him these same things, to leave while he could, before the whole thing fell apart. 

Echoes of the past.

“Genji, I found it.” Jesse managed to say, the ninja looking up sharply.

“You did?”

The gunslinger held up the folder, Genji setting his own aside and walking over.

“This is his account of the—”

“Agents, I am detecting a disturbance in the stairwell.” Eris suddenly interrupted. Jesse immediately drew his gun, Genji sinking into a lower stance.

“We were followed?! How?” The ninja hissed, hand on his wakazashi. 

Jesse cursed under his breath, taking whatever papers he could from the folder and tucking them into a spare ammunition pack on his belt.

“I had a feelin’ we weren’t alone…Just figured no one would know what the hell we were doin’. Hardly anyone knew about this place.” He muttered darkly, thumbing back the hammer of his revolver as he walked forward cautiously. 

Genji followed close behind him, silent save for the sleek sound of metal sliding into his fingers as his shruiken slipped into place. Something clattered in the main room, Jesse’s finger tightening minutely on the trigger.

“We know you’re there. Just come quietly, and we won’t shoot on sight.” He called.

“Agent McCree, I am not quite detecting any signs of life.” Eris alerted him, voice quieter, almost unsure.

“What do you mean, ‘not quite’?”

“It is…Not a biosignature I have been programmed to recognize. It is not even a true biosignature.”

“So what is it?” Genji growled, Jesse’s blood chilling at the twisted laugh that echoed around the room. 

A shadow-like fog drifted through the doorway, swirling behind Jesse and Genji both before solidifying into a shape. A mask. Bone-white and carved like a barn owl. The thing was draped in black, clawed hands forming and gripping two massive shotguns.

“I’ve been asking that same question for a long time.”

It had a scratchy, echoing voice, deeper and more guttural than any Jesse had heard before. He held Peacekeeper up, arm unwavering, eyes narrowing. He knew this creature.

“So, this is the Reaper.”

“Always so blunt, aren’t you, McCree.” It rumbled, Jesse’s lip curling.

“How do you know my name?”

“I know a whole lot more than you think. Now, I need a certain little file hidden in here, so get out, or I’ll kill you both.”

“We are not going anywhere! You are the one trespassing.” Genji snapped, wakizashi catching the light as he unsheathed it slightly.

“I said, leave.” Reaper repeated, shotguns raising to point right at their heads.

“We ain’t movin’. These files can’t get into Talon’s hands.”

There was a deep sigh like a rumbling growl, before the ear-shattering blast of the shotguns went off. Jesse dove to the side as Genji deflected, already moving around Reaper. The gunslinger went opposite of Genji, Reaper turning to follow his movements. 

Jesse reached for a flashbang, but the shotgun went off again, blowing it from his metal hand. It exploded, the flash making Jesse stumble, blinking rapidly as his ears rang. He vaguely heard another three shots go off, then a shout of pain. The cowboy shook his head as his vision came back, the outline of everything still just a little too bright. 

He raised his gun, then froze as he saw where Genji was. Hands gripping Reaper’s wrist, those claws tightening around his neck, holding him off the ground. Reaper’s free hand was holding a shotgun towards Jesse.

“Let him go!” Jesse seethed, that laugh echoing softer, more sinister.

“You have the same tricks you always had, Shimada. Too predictable. You both are.” Reaper murmured, grip tightening on Genji. It forced a choked sound from him, fingers scrabbling at Reaper’s arm.

“Let him go, or I swear to god I’ll put a bullet through that fucking mask.”

“Oh? And risk me shooting him?” Reaper cackled, turning the shotgun to press against Genji’s stomach. Jesse lowered his arm slightly.

“Jesse, just—Go!” Genji grit out, the gunslinger’s glare never leaving Reaper’s mask.

“I ain’t leavin’ you, ever. What do you want, Reaper? I’ll let you have it if you let him go.”

“I just needed access to this vault, it doesn’t work for me anymore. Funnily enough, I also heard about two special ex-Blackwatch operatives that had been sent to do just that.” Reaper sneered. Jesse’s eyes flicked to Genji, his struggles weakening.

“‘Anymore’? The hell are you talkin’ about?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I thought I taught you better than this, ingrate.”

Jesse’s brow slackened, cotton filling his ears as laughter filled the room, his arm falling back to his side. It should have been obvious. The mannerisms, the fighting style, the way of speech. Jesse knew them all too well, just didn’t want to believe it.

“Gabe…?” He whispered, eyes wide, feeling vulnerable in a way he hadn’t since he was seventeen, tied up by Blackwatch in Deadlock Gorge.

“Not anymore.” Reaper growled, finger tightening on his shotgun. The blast was louder than all the others to Jesse’s ears, a spray of red mixed with black splattering on the ground, Genji joining it as he was dropped. 

The gunslinger could only watch, time not moving the way it was supposed to. Reaper walked towards him, Jesse unable to see anything but how he had the same stride as Gabe. How he held his shotgun the same as it leveled with the cowboy’s face again.

“Last chance. Take Shimada and leave. Don’t try anything sneaky, or he’ll bleed out before you can get him back to your base in time.”

Jesse stared up at him, the blank mask, the barrel of the shotgun. He nodded numbly. Following orders, just like he used to. Body moving on autopilot while his mind was still stuck in the past. 

Jesse went to Genji, picking him up with an arm around his waist, the other keeping Genji’s arm over his shoulder. He could hear the ninja’s voice, but the words escaped him. Only the slightly robotic hum as he left the bunker.

“We need evac, now.”

His own voice this time, calm and quiet. Jesse didn’t recognize it.

“Copy that, drop ship is inbound. ETA five minutes.”

“Jesse.”

He blinked slowly, staring straight ahead as he trudged up the sand dune.

“Jesse, wait.”

So much like Deadlock Gorge. 

Jesse stopped, breathing unevenly. Genji placed a hand on his chest, visor tilted up at him.

“Are you okay…?” The ninja asked softly. Far to concerned about him considering his own state. 

Jesse’s eyes dropped to the sand at his feet, the way the grains shifted over his boots with the faint breeze. His vision swam.

“I…Don’t know.”

-

Just a graze. That’s what Dr. Ziegler had said, just a graze. The healing should have gone faster, but the wounds lingered. No one knew why. Genji was confined to bed, though, he was able to at least stay in his own. Jesse hardly left his side. 

Neither spoke of what had happened at the end of their meeting with Reaper, not yet. Jesse wasn’t ready, and Genji stayed quiet for his sake. It had been two days. Jesse had closed himself off, keeping his thoughts and feelings hidden, clutched to his chest. Fragile. 

The ninja was laying in bed, a bored look on his face as he stared at the ceiling. All his armour was off, just the smooth synth skin and bits of metal that couldn’t be removed left. Jesse’s fingers traced over the scars on his right arm absently, eyes not really focused on anything in particular.

“Jesse, we should talk about this.” Genji suddenly spoke up. His voice was gentle, but firm at the same time. Jesse knew the tone, the one that meant he wouldn’t take no for an answer. He sighed quietly.

“I know…”

“You’ve hardly said a word to me since we got back.”

“I know.”

“So talk to me. It doesn’t have to be everything, but you need to let those thoughts out. I want to help.”

“I know!” Jesse snapped, closing his eyes and taking a little breath before softening.

“I-I know, darlin’.”

Genji sat up with a slight wince, turning to face Jesse, legs crossing. He took the cowboy’s hands in his own, thumbs rubbing little circles over the backs of them.

“You are not alone anymore, Jesse. I am here for you.”

That simple promise cracked the foundations of the wall Jesse had put up, making it all too easy to topple. Tears slid down his cheeks, unbidden, his hands shaking in Genji’s grasp. It took him a moment to gather his thoughts, his sharp inhale too loud in the otherwise silent room.

“Gen…It was him. I-It was Gabe. He’s alive, he’s still out there—!” Jesse’s voice cut off with a choked sound, Genji squeezing his hands. Waiting patiently. Jesse was thankful for it.

“I thought…We all thought he’d died. They—We lost so many…But him, of all people. Reaper. He’s Reaper. Has been this whole time, Gen, he’s with fucking Talon! I never thought—He would never. Gabe was…”

“He was the best man I ever knew, why has he turned into this…Wraith? A murderer. A traitor, of all things! I don’t understand what happened to him! There’s so much I regret not doing for him, and now, seeing that he’s alive, that he’s workin’ against us…” Jesse trailed off, wiping his eyes quickly. 

The swirl of emotion inside him was too thick to make much sense of. He truly didn’t know how to feel. Sorrow, maybe? Betrayal, yes, there was some of that. Hurt. An odd sense of relief. Fear, even.

“I was not as close to him as you were, but I know that is not the man we knew. Whatever happened to him, it changed him. He is Reaper now, and we must treat him like that. An enemy. He wants to kill us.”

“He didn’t, though. He had us both in point blank range, but he didn’t shoot.”

“I’m pretty sure he shot me, Jess.” Genji frowned, gesturing to his stomach, still wrapped in bandages.

“No, I mean, he didn’t shoot to kill. If he wanted us dead, we would have been dead. He took us both out like that,” Jesse snapped his fingers to illustrate, brows furrowing.

“But he didn’t kill us.”

“It’s not him, Jesse.”

“He let us go! He recognized us—”

“Jesse.”

Genji’s hands went to Jesse’s shoulders, dark eyes steeped in gold boring into his own.

“That is not Reyes. Reyes died in that explosion, and Reaper is what crawled from the remains.”

Jesse looked away, lips pressing together tightly. He knew Genji was right, but there was a part of him that wanted to believe Reyes was still there. A part of him that still dared to hope. 

Genji’s brows furrowed, reading the gunslinger’s eyes.

“Not believing it will only hurt you more in the end. And I am tired of seeing you hurting. You deserve to heal, to be content.” Genji told him, pressing a kiss to Jesse’s fingers, stubble scratching them lightly. 

The cowboy cupped Genji’s cheek, leaning in to press their foreheads together.

“I just wish things had been different…”

“As do I. But lamenting about the past will not help the future.”

“Yeah…Where’d you get all this wisdom?”

Genji smiled softly, humming.

“Mm, Zenyatta truly works wonders.”

Jesse chuckled quietly, pressing a kiss to Genji’s lips. The cowboy then let his head sink to Genji’s shoulder, resting in the crook of his neck. Genji toyed with his hair with one hand, the other still holding Jesse’s in his lap, fingers laced.

It was quiet for a few minutes, Jesse’s thoughts not a complete jumble for the first time since Reaper revealed himself. There was still a pressing matter, though.

“We need to tell the team.” He mumbled, Genji’s hand halting its movement.

“Yes, we do. But I want you to just rest tonight, Jesse. We can figure that out tomorrow.”

Jesse nodded. Genji leaned back, taking them both down to the mattress, Jesse careful of his wounds. He was tired, and the next day was sure to be another difficult one. 

But for tonight, Jesse felt he could rest a little easier.

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is OverwatchWorks, there are many more McGenji and other fics there! :) Thank you for reading!


End file.
